Swat team: Boomtime for pesky flies
Business is booming for Taranaki pest controllers as they’re called in to deal with a bumper crop of flies this summer.
The hot humid weather has resulted in an explosion of insect numbers around the region which has been described as the worst exterminators and residents have seen.
Swarms of flying ants coating people’s houses, cars and washing were also being reported on social media sites.
While some are trying to deal with the problem, with varying degrees of success, using fly swats, spray and strips others have called in the professionals.
Pest Away’s Sandra Charlton said the weather had produced the perfect conditions for flies to breed.
‘‘Honestly the flies this year have been incredible,’’ Charlton said. ‘‘I have never known anything like it.’’
She said the company’s staff had been flat tack treating houses and the problem was expected to last all summer.
‘‘I don’t think it can get any worse; it’s just really, really bad at the moment.
‘‘It has been a challenge for us, that’s for sure.’’
Charlton said ants grew wings during breeding season.
‘‘They take to the air to reproduce and start new colonies.’’
There was not a lot people could do to prevent it, she said.
‘‘It’s just making sure when they see an ant trail, they actually work on it straight away.
‘‘Otherwise what will happen is they start nesting and then the whole cycle starts all over again.’’
Jeff Wills, of Bio-Tech Pest Control, said insects loved hot sunny days.
‘‘There’s a plague of the little bastards around,’’ Wills said.
‘‘There’s flies for Africa, I’m flat out doing flies to the point where I can’t look at doing anything else.’’
Wills said a mature ant colony seasonally produced winged virgin queens and males that took to the air to mate which was known as the ‘‘nuptial flight’’.
Witnessing the phenomenon could be the first indication people had that they had ants in their building, he said.
‘‘Quite often people don’t even realise that they have ants nesting in their building until they see this.’’
Clare Wellington posted on Facebook fly numbers were the worst she had seen in 14 years living on Smart Rd.
‘‘Not blow flies but smaller grass flies,’’ she said.
‘‘No amount of fly spray gets rid of them.’’
Craig Jeffery commented there were ants all over his washing in Spotswood. ‘‘If I go outside, I get covered in them.’’
Denis Wadsworth said he had resorted to fly paper to solve the problem.
‘‘Filthy stuff but it seems to be working. Fly spray does nothing.’’
Ashleigh Downs said she was using three cans of fly spray week.
Meanwhile Donna Morrison offered a handy homemade hint on how to prevent the problem.
‘‘I would highly recommend putting lavender and peppermint oil in a diffuser to deter the flies ... it really works.’’